Graduate unemployability: For years, employers used degrees as a lazy filter to shortlist interview candidates. But, now that it is clear a degree is not what it used to be—60% of taxi drivers in Korea, 31% of retail sales clerks in the US, and 15% of high-end security guards in India now have a degree—employers are shifting their focus to employability and skills. This means candidates from outside the top institutions, or those without degrees, can differentiate themselves through certifications, soft skills, apprenticeships, projects, work experience, career growth, and more.

Almost all Sri Lankan employers I meet complain about candidates not having right skills and attitude, not just among freshers but also among seniors. Degrees are not relevant, they say.

Yet the young generation toil away their money and time in to getting a degree, and employers keep on picking degree holders. Why is this ?

One person gave an explanation that seems fit. ” We do not have enough pressure yet to work more. Look at India, they have enough pressure to be relevant, because if you do not work well, many are in the line to take your job”

Well then I read the most bizarre thing. Forget pressure, we are rewarding the lazy.

Sri Lanka’s unemployed graduates who are not disabled but are not contributing to the nation in gainful employment will get a 20,000 rupee monthly allowance from the state starting from July 2018.

The government will recruit 5,000 graduate who apparently cannot find a gainful job and pay them 20,000 rupees a month from July.